Does the colour of canvas make a difference ?

[senormechanico]

I've found the same as Cheechako and Skipmac.
We had a light colored (Oyster) full boat awning with plastic light grey screens which hung over the caprail with a fair amount of clearance for ventilation while we cruised Mexico.
When visiting another boat that had a dark green sunbrella dodger and bimini, the tops of our heads felt like they had a heat lamp right above them. Roughly the same headroom as our boat, so I think it was a fair comparison.
It was darker, but hotter under the dark shade while sitting.
Maybe a light color outside, with light blocking foil inside???

[Beausoleil]

Another for Stamoid. We went with white - as others have said, physics says white reflects the whole visible spectrum, leaving little energy to be dissipated as heat.

Both our canvas guy and the guys at Mack Sails said that with traditional Sunbrella Acrylic, lighter colors don't last as long as the darker ones. But the newer Sunbrella polyester fabric, whatever it's called, is supposed to have better UV wear than the acrylic...

[markpierce]

Why not be boring and get blue like everyone else.



(Look, Daddy, isn't that the 200th white boat with blue canvas we've seen today?)

[harlie]

OK – two identical boats - same age within a month, both acrylic Sunbrella, mine is dark blue, other light grey. Mine is much hotter to sit under than the grey (mine feels like sitting under a heater on a hot day). Mine passes enough UV through to get burnt, same as the grey.

I have a runabout as well – bimini is a vinyl product (Nylex I think) with a fabric layer underneath, light grey on top dark grey underneath, far cooler and less UV than the sunbrella but I’m told it will shrink and fall apart if left in the sun long term so not at all suitable for a yacht.

[Ian R]

For sail covers dark colours block uv better and cooks off any moisture under the cover.But don't use red in the tropics as it fades fast.

[forsailbyowner]

But the stitching is another matter. I wish I could find stitching that lasted as long as the sunbrella.[/QUOTE]

If your canvas guy is not using tenara or similiar thread, get a new canvas guy. No restitches ever or its free, labor and materials. Im still getting restitches that failed in as little as 6 month sewn with white polyester. These guys still sewing with polyester only are looking as far ahead as your payment to them.

[SimonV]

I have had both black and dark green bimini covers, both keep out the sun and if you open the sides do not get hot. If you are silly enough to sit under your covers with the sides all buttoned up you must expect to roast yourself. It is shade you are after, light colours dont cut it .....and they show the dirt.

[lancelot9898]

Originally Posted by IAN R

For sail covers dark colours block uv better and cooks off any moisture under the cover.But don't use red in the tropics as it fades fast.

I agree with that about the uv however we have burgundy sail covers(duberry? tweet) and it does not fade as much as the solid covers due to the black thread. Speaking of threads, I've always heard that the super duper threads for holding the seams while lasting longer than the polyester threads have a tendency to cut into the fabic. ??

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

But the stitching is another matter. I wish I could find stitching that lasted as long as the sunbrella.

If your canvas guy is not using tenara or similiar thread, get a new canvas guy. No restitches ever or its free, labor and materials. Im still getting restitches that failed in as little as 6 month sewn with white polyester. These guys still sewing with polyester only are looking as far ahead as your payment to them.[/QUOTE]

Agreed! Our boom bag sail cover is Burgandy Sunbrella stitched with Tenara. It is 7 years old, mostly in the tropics. Bag is slightly faded, chafed in spots, ragged seam edges in places, but the stitching is 100% ok. Great stuff!

Cheers,

Jim

[zeehag]

ok ok
i am in mazatlan. everyone KNOWS mazatlan is in paradice, yes?? and everyone knows is HOT down here, yes???? i have darkj green and i have tannih beige-- both are good. if ye want the bird doo to show up best, use dark. if n0t-- use light colors. doesnt even matter-- both are good for deflecting the direct sunlight. bu5 bird doo shows up soooo nicely on my dark greeen.....LOL

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

But the stitching is another matter. I wish I could find stitching that lasted as long as the sunbrella.

If your canvas guy is not using tenara or similiar thread, get a new canvas guy. No restitches ever or its free, labor and materials. Im still getting restitches that failed in as little as 6 month sewn with white polyester. These guys still sewing with polyester only are looking as far ahead as your payment to them.[/QUOTE]

Another vote for Tenara (GoreTex).
Great stuff, not cheap. Not easy to get the tension right (and I'm a sewing machine service professional) but it lasts.

[barnakiel]

I have never seen any test that proves that the dark colors last longer. I have a first hand proof that they do get way hotter.

Alas, plastic fittings seem to go first if they are in white plastic - so the story may very well be 100% true.

b.

[svHyLyte]

We have a Blue and White Striped Sunbrella Bimini (see snap below) while our sister ship s/v Ocean Angel, who was one slip away from us until she departed for the BVI in February, has a Navy Blue Bimini. The difference between the two, via-a-vis heat during the summer months, is palpable. Under Ocean Angel's Bimini one feels as if one is sitting under the top burner in a convection oven compared to the relative cool and comfort under our Bimini.

The unfortunate thing is that our Bimini will not/has not lasted as long as a solid Navy Blue Bimini. Our dodger is solid Navy Blue and is now about 15 years old and going strong. Our Light Blue and White Bimini is about 7 years old and I spent last Sunday on the floor in our family room laying adheasive backed sail repair tape on either side of the White stripes on the aft--more solar exposed--sides of the Bimini where the cloth stretches over the bow. The Blue stripes, on either side, are fine. Only the intervening White Strips have failed and only in that one position although I have no doubt we will be replacing the entire Bimini by this time next year.

FWIW...

[svcattales]

I owned a marine canvas business for 4 years and became very familiar with lots of different fabrics.

The dark fabrics do get hotter, particularly if there is little space between the top of your head and the top. If you have a foot of air space and good circulation, the dark colors are not as bad.

It is true that dark colored Sunbrella will last longer than light colors and some colors stay true for longer periods. Reds, yellows and browns will tend to fade, but blue and green and black colors stay true for their full life.

When we bought our cat we had dark green canvas and our heads were only an inch or two from the bimini top. We thought our heads would explode in the Florida sun. When we made our new top we used white Stamoid and it was noticably cooler. Stamoid is also nice for some applications because it has less stretch than Sunbrella. Our top has very little crown (slope) so we had to stretch the Stamoid very tight to avoid puddling water.

Tenara and similar threads are almost 4X the cost of heavy polyester thread, but it is worth the money to get this option. It will last the life of your fabric and the extra expense will be a small percentage of the total project.

[Bash]

I switched from navy blue on my last boat to a medium gray on the current boat, and much prefer the gray. It gets no where near as hot as the navy blue.